<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>EX-99.1
<SEQUENCE>2
<FILENAME>sc2899ex991.txt
<TEXT>
                                                                    Exhibit 99.1

  SERVICE CORPORATION INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCES PRIVATE OFFERING OF $300 MILLION
                            OF UNSECURED SENIOR NOTES

    HOUSTON, June 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Service Corporation International
(NYSE: SCI), which owns and operates funeral service locations and cemeteries,
announced today that it is commencing a private placement offering to eligible
purchasers, subject to market and other conditions, of $300 million aggregate
principal amount of unsecured Senior Notes due 2017. The Company intends to use
the net proceeds from the private debt financing, together with available cash,
to retire the Company's 7.2% Notes due 2006 and 6.875% Notes due 2007.

    The notes may be resold by the initial purchasers pursuant to Rule 144A and
Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933. The notes will not initially be
registered under the Securities Act of 1933 or the securities laws of any state
and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an
applicable exemption from the registration requirements under the Securities Act
and any applicable state securities laws. This press release shall not
constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall
there be any sale of these securities in any state in which the offer,
solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification
under the securities laws of any such state.

    Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Statements
    The statements in this press release that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements have been made in
reliance on the "safe harbor" protections provided under the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be accompanied by words such
as "believe," "estimate," "project," "expect," "anticipate," or "predict," that
convey the uncertainty of future events or outcomes. These statements are based
on assumptions that we believe are reasonable; however, many important factors
could cause our actual results in the future to differ materially from the
forward-looking statements made herein and in any other documents or oral
presentations made by, or on behalf of, us. Important factors which could cause
actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements
include, among others, unfavorable conditions in the financing markets, and our
ability to successfully complete the previously announced tender offers and this
proposed offering on favorable terms.

    For further information on these and other risks and uncertainties, see our
Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including our 2004 Annual Report on
Form 10-K, as amended. Copies of this document as well as other SEC filings can
be obtained from our website at http://www.sci-corp.com . We assume no
obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements made
herein or any other forward-looking statements made by us, whether as a result
of new information, future events or otherwise.

<PAGE>

    Service Corporation International, headquartered in Houston, Texas, owns and
operates funeral service locations and cemeteries. We have an extensive network
of businesses including 1,169 funeral service locations and 390 cemeteries in
North America as of March 31, 2005. For more information about Service
Corporation International, please visit our website at http://www.sci-corp.com .

    For additional information contact:

    Investors:  Debbie Young - Director / Investor Relations
                (713) 525-9088

    Media: Terry Hemeyer - Managing Director / Corporate Communications
           (713) 525-5497

SOURCE  Service Corporation International
    -0-                             06/08/2005
    /CONTACT:  investors, Debbie Young, Director-Investor Relations,
+1-713-525-9088, or media, Terry Hemeyer, Managing Director-Corporate
Communications, +1-713-525-5497, both of Service Corporation International/
    /Web site:  http://www.sci-corp.com /

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